Improvement in gar-sprin gs



INER. Car-spring Patented Feb. 26, 1878.

55%; jWW Zar UNI'IED STA'I'ESS PATENT OFFICE.

I IEMAN GARDINE'R, OF NEW YORK, N. Yj.

1 M P-ROVEM E NT N o R- s pnm es.

Specification formin g piiri: of Letters Patent N o. 200,610, datedFebruary 2( 3, 18'7 8 appiication fi1eri T0 all whom z't may concem:

Be it known that I, HEMAN GARDINER, of the oity, county, and State ofNew York,ha.ve invented new and nsefu1 Improvemehts in Springs suitaiolefor Railroad-Oars and. other uses, of whioh the following is a,speoifioation:

My invention has referenee 110 that dass of springs composed. of stee1spiralooils and rubber, aoting as an auxiliary or cushion to thespirals; and my invention oonsists, first, in the peonliar oonstruotionof the parts which, when put together, form ishe exterior spira1 eoil ofthe spring; seoondly, in ehe peculiar f0rni and arrangement of therubber cus hions whioh operate as auxiliary to the spirais; and,

- thirdly, in the combination of the parts as a who1e, with referenceespecially to forn1ing a milroad-car spring.

In the accompzvnying drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation ofmy spring; Fig. 2, a vertioal oross-seotion through the center of thesarne; Fig. 3, aplan view of one of the india-rubber rings which areused in combination With the steel spirzul.

In all the figures similar letters represent similar parts.

The exterior spiral ooi1 of my spring is coustruoted. in the followingmanner: I take two strips of steel, suitabie 110 the size and strength0f the spring required, and of such length as, when coiled, to forrn aspring of the required height. These strips are roiled out so as tocorrespond in size and shape 130 eaoh other externally and internally,and so that When the two are put together they oonstitute the body ofthe exterior spiral spring. The forma of these strips, when rolled andwhen put together, is shown in the oross-seotions of the spiral in Fig.2, a a being the two parts, having 011 their interior faoes semioiroulargrooves, corresponding to eaoh other, anci whioh, when the two are puttogether, form the oiroular groove b, extending the length of the coils.The interior faoes'of these'strips are beveled ab the upper and loweredges in the ro1ling, as shown ab c, Fig. 2. This beveling is for thepurpose of attaining as mach lightness and saving in the material as maybe consistent with unimpaired strength.

Within the ciroular groove b I plaee a circu]ar steel rod, ofcorresponding size With the groove, am]. which rnns the length of thesteel through all the ooi1s. 113 fills the space b, and may berepresented. in the drawing by that space.

Before the coiling operation is performed, the strips a a and. rod b areplaoed together, anci t he ends of a a are heated and welded together,so as 150 fix the ends firm1y to eaoh other, between Which, ab the endsof the rod,-

which are seoured and hold within by the weiding of these ends to a a,so that the rod.

operates by extension 0r dontraotion, and is, in faot, a tensive as wellas elastie rod. The parts thus prepared are then eoiled. into the spiralspring, as shown ab a in Fig. l, on the exterior face, and in Fig. 2, ata b 0c, as to the interior forn1. The ends 0f the spiral 2blld of therod are brougho to a fiat surfaoe, so that the top am]. bottoin of thespring will be paralle1 and perpendieular to the axis of the spring.

The rubber porbion 0f the spring is composed of a series of similarrings, d. (Shown in p1an in Fig. 3 and in oross-seotions in Fig. 2, andin elevation in tl1e partly-dottod 1ines in Fig. l.) These rings d areplaced one uponanother, and are of such dimensions as 1:0 fit closeiywithin the oore of the spiral, und be hold there by the pressure. Theyare in number equal to "ehe number of ooils, 'a-nd the ir thicknessshould about equ2u1 the width of the spiral bar. The outer surfaces ofthe two upper and lower rings should be flush with the t0p and. bottomof the end coils of the spiral a.

Within the rings is inserted the small sceei spira1 spring e, extendingthe 1ength of the spring, and the eore of whioh may be paoked with fe1tor cotton, 0r other material suioable for a.otin g as a cnshion.

(Ehe peouliar oonstruotion of the exterior spiral, as described, securesthe advantages of being easily rolled, with diminished liability tostraining in the coiling it is more easily sind unifoirrnly temperedthroughout; anc1 it is ]ighter in material, as compared wibh springsmade solid of similar power. The rubber portion of the spring, beingdivided into soctions, as desoribed, and of the ring form, not on1yaffords spaoe for the bulging of the rubber under pressure, but therings are very easily and cheaply construeted, and. can be repaired withfacility and cheapness by simply substituting a fresh ring for one thatmay have become inj ured.

The spring, as a whole, possesses all required elastieity and ease ofaction, and also great sta'rength and security against fi*acture 01injury from the strain am]. shocks which railroadcar springs aresubjected t0.

Having thus described my improved spring and. the manner of constructing the same, what I claim therein as my invention, and desire 130secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The exterior spirallycoiled compound steel spring, composed 0f eheparts a a b, welded together at their ends, anal the ends of HEMANGARDINER.

Witnesses FRANK E. MORGAN, AUDLEY J MOONEY.

